Murdaugh murder retrial could come before 'end of calendar year,' South Carolina AG says

Bristow Marchant, The State (Columbia, S.C.) on May 13, 2026

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Prosecutors will move “aggressively” to retry Alex Murdaugh on murder charges by the end of the year, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson told a news conference Wednesday.

Wilson and Creighton Waters, the lead prosecutor who tried Murdaugh for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul, addressed the media just hours after the S.C. Supreme Court struck down Alex Murdaugh’s murder conviction from that 2023 trial.

While Wilson said he disagreed with the court’s decision, and it had left prosecutors who worked to convict Murdaugh “disappointed,” the attorney general said his office would “look to the future” to ensure justice is done for Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh.

“There will be little surprises for the public as this case is retried again,” Wilson said before a bank of cameras in the state grand jury room.

The Supreme Court had not faulted the prosecution’s case against Murdaugh in the initial trial. Instead, the court faulted the actions of former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill that the justices decided had improperly influenced the jury, he said. Hill has since pleaded guilty to perjury and misconduct charges related to the case.

Now the Attorney General’s office intends to bring a broadly similar case against Murdaugh in a retrial, pointing to the same evidence that secured a conviction before. Wilson even said they would seek to retry the case at Hill’s former courthouse in Colleton County were the first trial played out.

“Colleton County is not the reason the former clerk did what she did,” Wilson said, and Hill — who resigned her office when allegations about her conduct came to light — won’t play a role in any retrial, the attorney general said.

Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and son after a six-week trial in March 2023. Maggie and Paul were found shot to death at the family’s country home between Hampton and Walterboro in June 2021. Murdaugh says he found their bodies after returning from a visit to his mother’s.

He will remain in prison pending trial, after pleading guilty in state and federal court to stealing millions of dollars from his former clients and law partners at the family firm. Murdaugh still has decades to serve for those offenses, Wilson said.

The state presented copious evidence of those crimes at Murdaugh’s first murder trial, arguing it provided a motive for the killings. But in its ruling, the Supreme Court critiqued how much time had been spent on Murdaugh’s actions other than those related to the murders.

“By our calculation, the State spent a total of 12.5 hours of actual testimony before the jury over ten days of trial to introduce evidence related to Murdaugh’s financial crimes,” the Supreme Court decision said. “We are convinced the State could have effectively presented evidence to support its motive theory in a fraction of that time.”

Waters, who presented much of that evidence, said the court had set “guardrails” for how that evidence could be used in a second trial.

“We were aggressive about the evidence, and we put out multiple pretrial briefs about what we planned to put on evidence in this case,” Waters said Wednesday. “That’s the process. The justices said we presented viable evidence of motive.”

In a joint statement Wednesday, Murdaugh attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian said the Supreme Court agreed with their contention that the financial evidence was excessive.

“The Court held that this evidence went far beyond what was necessary and gave rise to unfair prejudice,” Murdaugh’s attorneys said. “On retrial, that will not be permitted.”

”Alex has said from day one that he did not kill his wife and son,” they said. “We look forward to a new trial conducted consistent with the Constitution and the guidance this Court has provided.”

The Attorney General’s office was considering all of its legal options Wednesday, Wilson said. Prosecutors have 15 days to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision, and 90 days to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But prosecutors’ preference is to move forward with a speedy retrial, he said.

Wilson, who is a candidate for governor this year, noted that depending on when the trial occurs he may no longer be attorney general.

“I would like to be involved, but ... many of the people who worked on this case are still here,” he said. “It’s the job of the office to pursue this case. It’s not built on who the occupant is.”

He also defended his office’s conduct in handling the case against criticism he said might come from his political opponents. “If they want to make this about politics, that shows their character or lack thereof,” he said.

“People were murdered, and they deserve justice,” Wilson said. “Their families deserve to see justice meted out. That is the job of this office.”